Resisting the Resistance: Gaza’s Anti-Hamas Militias

At least five factions are competing for legitimacy in the hearts and minds of a demoralized Palestinian society on the brink of collapse.

????Who are the anti-Hamas militias in Gaza?

In recent weeks, these groups expanded beyond their usual areas, clashing with Hamas, entering new zones, and interacting openly with locals.

This thread aims to explain who they are, where they operate, and who leads them. pic.twitter.com/8c7mnlh3ww

— Stinky (@Stinky915846091) May 11, 2026

I used to publish a community newspaper. It was a great deal of effort- printing ink on paper to disseminate the news. A labor of love, and a lost art. 

These days my updates are from a French bulldog avatar named “Stinky” on X, cross-referenced against Telegram channels, geolocation analysts, and news podcasts with my instant coffee.

This week, Stinky identified emerging anti-Hamas militias revealing a fragmented attempt at restoring order in parts of Gaza, especially around Rafah, Khan Yunis, Shujaya, and northern buffer areas is emerging.

Forming a loose network of armed anti-Hamas militias operating near or beyond the Israeli security buffer zone (“yellow line”), especially in northern Gaza, Khan Yunis, and Rafah, they distribute aid, recruit locals, and present themselves as a post-Hamas governing alternative.

Popular Army – Northern Forces

Established in September of 2025, by Ashraf al-Mansi. It is Headquartered at the Izbat Beit Hanoun Elementary School for Boys, on Al Awda Street. Location: 31.547334, 34.518417 8G3PGGW9+W9 North Gaza Governorate, Gaza

Shujaya Popular Defense Forces

Also established September of 2025, its based at the Shujaya School Complex. Alongside their armed force, Gazan civilians seeking refuge from Hamas moved to the complex, residing there.  @Stinky915846081

Free Homeland Forces

Established in November 2025, they are based in the Masadaa Ibn Abed Allah Al Azmi Basic Co-education school, they are led by Shawqi Abu Nassira, a former PA General, and Ex-Police Chief in the Rafah Region. They’re located 450m from the yellow line. @Stinky915846081

Counter Terrorism Strike Force

Established in August of 2025, it is ran by Hussam Al Astal, and based in Qizan An Najjar, by the Magen Oz corridor. Geolocated footage showed them active in the center of Khan Yunis, distributing aid, clashing with Hamas. @Stinky915846081

Popular Forces

Based in Al Bayuk, it is the oldest/largest militia out of all the groups. Founded by now deceased Yasser Abu Shabab in 2024, it has since led by Ghassan Al Dahini. They have been active in multiple areas of the Rafah Governorate. @Stinky915846081

Martyr Khalil al-Wazir Batallion

Set up in December 2025, it is based out of the Al-Quds Open university, in the Tel Al Sultan area of Rafah. It is still unclear who leads them. @Stinky915846081

Factions are reportedly buying up land and plots in Shujaya and Beit Hanoun. Civilians relocating into militia-controlled zones are instructed to follow militia rules suggesting they may be attempting to build semi-permanent autonomous zones or future enclaves independent of Hamas rule.

This comes against a backdrop of general exhaustion with Hamas and seemingly of all Palestinian political leadership overall. 

“People have had enough of Hamas.”

– Yousef Yasser

Online discourse in the enclave today reflects a society grappling with deep distrust in institutions, factional fighting, dark humor and the search for normalcy all at once.

No longer the chorus of wartime slogans amplified by activists around the globe, it increasingly resembles a society arguing with itself in public over victory narratives, money, betrayal, survival, and who truly stood with the people as Gaza collapsed.

“Today I saw the carpenter they asked to build the pulpit of Al-Aqsa after the liberation…I saw him carrying a cooking pot, standing in line at the lentil soup charity kitchen, saying: ‘Open the crossing — damn this country.’

– Abu Karim Abu Shaqra أبو كريم أبو شقرة on Facebook

Meanwhile, in Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority (PA) can’t make payroll and has little support amongst Gazans with no use for national nostalgia.

At 90, Mahmoud Abbas remains in control of a broken, weak, aging legitimacy-crisis-ridden PA, the PLO, and Fatah. And with no succession plan in place Palestinian politicians are positioning for the “day after Abbas” while ordinary Gazans wait for aid, sweltering in their flea-infested tents.

The future of a unified Palestinian national identity and cause remains unclear, and increasingly underfunded.

Most Gazans are in debt and exhausted with no work while unemployment in Ramallah is on the rise.

“Unlike in the past, this time agriculture and labor in Israel cannot save the Palestinian economy; these too are forbidden, or almost forbidden, by Israeli directive,” noted Amira Hass referring to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians barred from work in Israel since October 7.

None of this is to say that Palestinians are any closer to choosing peaceful coexistence with Israel. Just that they are deeply disillusioned, demoralized and desperate to turn the page. But as with previous attempts at liberation through violence, Gazans will likely have little say in who authors their next chapter.

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Much of the open-source mapping, geolocation, chronology reconstruction, and militia tracking referenced in this piece was the work of OSINT accounts including @Stinky915846081, @ArabOSINT, @GeoImint, and @ChrisOsieck.

As with all OSINT ecosystems, claims require constant verification, skepticism, and cross-referencing.